How To Use PicMonkey For Your Blog
08:00
Blogging is more than just writing and uploading these days. You have to take into account the images and graphics you're also going to use not just in your posts, but also other parts of your blogs as well, such as your design or any offerings you might have. PicMonkey is a great tool to use to cover a range of different areas when it comes to these parts of your blog. The plus of this website is that most of the features are super easy to use and also completely free! I use PicMonkey quite a lot for my blog for different tasks, so I really wanted to share a post with you on this handy tool and hopefully introduce and encourage you to use it, if you've been looking for something like this to help with optimising your blog.
What is PicMonkey?
PicMonkey is a free photo editing and graphic design site that enables you to show off your creativity, find your style and build your skills with a range of tools to help you achieve whatever it is you want to. You also have the choice of signing up and paying to gain access to premium features if this is something you fancy doing. But even with the free tools you are given a vast amount of things to work with.
Some of the free features include...
- Edit your photos - with basic tools like cropping, exposure, sharpening and resizing your images. Adding effects/filters onto your photos to bring them to life. Touch up your images with edits such as blemish fix or teeth whiten. Add text, overlays, frames and textures to enhance the overall feel for your photos.
- Design your own graphic - this could be anything from banners, invites, cards, your Facebook cover photo, whatever it is you have the opportunity to design something of your own!
- Create a collage - put together a range of images to create your own collage. You can also design it to suit whatever needs or tastes you have.
How can I use it for my own blog?
Edit photos - PicMonkey can give you a great chance to have somewhere you can easily access to edit your photos for your posts, social media uploads, your about me page or any other images you may need to use that relate to your blog. It is really easy to use and get the hang of. With the free features I have mentioned above, you can really enhance your already brilliant images and add your own editing style to them. I tend to use this feature to fix the exposure on my photos, add any text I might want for makeup swatch images or Pinterest graphics and to resize my images so they load quicker on my page.
Create a moodboard/edit board - On many occasions, I have used Picmonkey to create graphics for mood boards or edits, such as wishlists or guides. PicMonkey is a great tool to use to do this because it gives you the chance to do everything you need to do to create images of this type, such as add text, add any overlays, such as the leaf I have added to the above images for any extra details, add your own overlays that are your own images, like the clothe pieces I have added to create the guide. Plus you can have the canvas whatever size you need and have it look however you want it to look to fit with your blog theme. Again really easy to do and quick!
Graphics for Pinterest - If you're a fan of Pinterest or want to build your profile on there, you might be someone who wants to or already does add graphics onto your images to make them Pinterest friendly. PicMonkey is the one place I always go to do this. You can easily add any text and overlays to your images to make them appropriate for pinning over on Pinterest. PicMonkey has a great range of different fonts to chose form to suit the image or style you're going for. I love the big writing like style fonts for my images as they really stand out and look quirky too.
Media Kit - If you want to provide brands a media kit regarding your blog for future collaborations, then you can use PicMonkey to create the kit. As it gives you the feature of making your own graphics, you will find it is no trouble at all to create the media kit through the website. By adding your own images, texts and overlays you can easily create a high quality yet professional looking media kit that reflects you and your blog really well.
Blog header - In terms of design for your blog, PicMonkey is another place I always go to when it comes to designing my headers. As it gives you the option of choosing whatever text you like. I find it super easy to find a font that will work well with the style of header I want to go for and will reflect my overall blog theme well. Also you can add any overlays from the site or upload your own to add extra features to your blog header. Make it your own and be as creative as you want!
Blog logo - Similar to your blog header, you can easily make a logo for your blog through PicMonkey. Once you've got your idea in mind or want to have an experiment with a few ideas, then chose your size canvas and get started with designing your logo. With a range of overlays, text and your own images to edit, you can really create a great logo that reflects your blog well. A great feature on PicMonkey is that you can have different layers to your canvas, so you can really bring your designs to life by simply adding layers to your logo to make it stand out amongst the crowd and recognisable against others.
Collages - As mentioned, PicMoneky provides you with the feature to create your own collage. I have also used this in the past for different posts, such as the hair tutorial post I did and even for style related posts. By uploading and dragging your images, you can chose whatever design you like, whether you're more for a square deal like the one above or a collage of different sized images, the choice is yours. You can also round the corners off, edit the images exposure, the size and whether they fit to the cell or fill the cell. Also you can add any textures you want to be the backdrop of your collage to create a certain theme.
Other ways you can use PicMonkey in relation to your blog is by creating free printables for your readers to download and use. This could a range of offerings, such as a blog post schedule worksheet, a planning worksheet, a check list or to do list, whatever it is, PicMoneky can give you the chance to create your graphic through the graphic design features. If you have a Youtube Channel that you link with your blog, you also can use PicMoneky to create your own thumbnails. This also might come in handy for your blog posts too. But through the photo editing tool or collage tool, you can create your thumbnails.
Overall, I'd really recommend using PicMonkey for any aspect of photo or graphic editing when it comes to your blog. I use it pretty much for all my posts in one way or another and it is so helpful. The ease, efficiency and affordability along with the range of features and opportunities it gives is a a massive seller!
Have you ever used PicMonkey? What photo/graphic design software do you use for your blog?
Lauren x
11 comments